


Long Ago

by Hannah_Girl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adoption, Autism Spectrum, Castiel and Hannah are on the autism spectrum, Dean and castiel haven't spoken after fight, Five Years Later, Multi, Rekindling, Single Parent Sam Winchester, after episode s15e03, love triangle that evolves into poly, past sam winchester/Eileen Leahy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:14:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26381725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hannah_Girl/pseuds/Hannah_Girl
Summary: Takes place five years after s15e03, "Rapture." The Winchesters haven't heard from Castiel in over five years. Ever since he and Dean got into a fight and he walked out on their lives. Sam has wondered about him ever since. He's surprised when they happen to run into him in a small town. Sam and Castiel both have wounds to heal and they both have a lot to talk about. But is it possible to heal old wounds? Is it possible to find feelings for someone again after so long? Especially when they have someone new in their lives?
Relationships: Castiel/Hannah (Supernatural), Castiel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15
Collections: Fanfiction Writers United Angst Collection, Fanfiction Writers United Multiples Collection, Takeout Tacos





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Please note that tags may change as the story goes. Things evolve, things get darker, angstier, etc. If there are any trigger warnings that pop up, I will warn of the particular chapter and I will change the tags accordingly. So just keep that in mind, that I don’t necessarily know how dark things will get at this point as I tend to let my muse do the writing. Also, note that side pairings are often known to change in my stories too, so be aware of that as I will alter the tags for that too. Nothing is certain.
> 
> Also, I am hoping this doesn't need to be said but just in case, no Hannah haters! Hannah is my favorite character and all my fics are Hannah centric. I will not tolerate Hannah haters!
> 
> Also, note that how I portray characters doesn't necessarily reflect how I feel about characters. I love all the supernatural characters, but I enjoy playing with their flaws. And I enjoy using their flaws against them to create conflict. Good characters have flaws!

Long Ago Chapter One

“Cas?” Sam couldn’t believe it. He never expected to run into Castiel in this tiny town. He’d always wondered why Castiel had disappeared that day, over five years ago now. He’d called repeatedly, and he’d asked Dean, who refused to talk about it.

But now, here he was, standing in front of the angel, their paths suddenly converged at a gas station of all places. He was instantly recognizable. Of course, angels didn’t age or lose or gain weight, but he wore the same suit and beige trenchcoat he always had worn. 

“S-Sam…” Castiel stuttered slightly, his blue eyes wide in surprise as he glanced up from the gas pump he had just inserted into his car- Sam recognized it. The old gold-colored ‘78 Lincoln that Sam hadn’t seen in well over a decade.

At first, the two of them just stared at one another, unsure what to say next. How could anyone find the right words for this situation?

Finally, it was Cas who broke the silence. He gave Sam a soft smile, “how are you, Sam?” he asked sincerely. 

“I’m good,” Sam fidgeted with the gas nozzle he had in his hands before absently inserting it into the impala. “I’m just getting gas real quick before heading back to the hotel.”

Sam berated himself internally. Of course, he was getting gas. Why else would he be at a gas station? But in all truthfulness, he was still unsure of how to react. He could never tell the angel, and he could never tell Dean, but he’d thought of this happening for so long. He wondered what it would be like to have Castiel in his life again. He’d gone over various scenarios in his mind. What he would say. What the angel might say. And most of all: why did he leave them?

He’d thought about it for the past five years. Even when Eileen was still in his life, and it made him feel guilty. Because it wasn’t as if he didn’t love Eileen with all his heart, and it wasn’t as if he’d been devastated when she died, but the way he thought of Castiel all the time, it had haunted him all these years. 

“Is Dean here?” Castiel’s voice brought Sam out of his thoughts, and he realized that he’d been staring at Castiel the entire time. Lost in his own thoughts. 

“Yeah,” Sam confirmed. And Autumn. Autumn was there. But Sam wasn’t sure how to tell Castiel about Autumn. “Cas… how long have you been here in town? Are you working on a case? I… I guess I thought you would have returned to heaven. You know… after…”

“I knew you and Dean would be able to defeat God in the end,” Castiel replaced the gas nozzle back onto the pump and closed the panel on his car. “I don’t know how, but that’s not important, I suppose.”

“We trapped him,” Sam blurted out. “He’s still alive, but we trapped him—sort of like Amara. We had to think of something. We didn’t have Jack… or you… to help us.”  _ Because you left _ , Sam added that last bit in his thoughts, with a burst of emotion and resentment. He wanted to confront him. To demand an explanation. But he couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare Cas away again. 

“Castiel,” a feminine voice caught Sam’s attention, and he whirled towards the source. He recognized the woman coming out of the gas station convenience store, though he had to blink a few times, jogging his memory a little, as he barely remembered her.

“Do you remember Hannah?” Castiel asked as the woman strolled over to stand beside Castiel, a plastic bag in her hands. She glanced over at Sam, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion before a glimmer of recognition flashed in her eyes.

“The Winchesters?” Hannah glanced at Castiel for an explanation. “How did they find us?”

“It’s alright,” Castiel assured her before turning his attention to Sam, his arm snaking around Hannah’s torso, pulling her closer. “Sam and I just happened to run into one another.”

“Cas, what’s going on here?” Sam demanded, eyeing the subtle act of intimacy between the two angels. 

“It will take too long to explain everything,” Castiel began. “But, Hannah and I are married.”

That information hit Sam like a ton of bricks. Castiel was  _ married? _ Sam swallowed, managing to barely keep his emotions in check as he forced a smile through the pain he was feeling. Castiel got married, that was why he had never come back. He’d moved on! He’d forgotten about them! It felt as though Sam had been knifed in the gut. 

“I… I thought you were dead,” Sam blurted out. “Dean never told me why you left. I assumed because it hurt too much. I didn’t know what happened to you. All this time, you’ve been here with her?”

Castiel sighed hard. “I’m not ready to talk about this,” he held up a hand. “I’m just not ready to have this conversation. You have no idea what the past five years have been like for me, Sam. And you have no idea how hard it was to leave and never come back.”

“It was Dean,” Hannah blurted out bluntly in a tone that clearly meant a warning. “He hurt Castiel. And now he has a life here. He’s healed.” She glanced at Castiel. “Come on, Abigail is waiting at home.”

“Wait!” After all this time, Sam wasn’t going to let Castiel walk out on his life again. He could tell this meeting was quickly going sour, and he needed a chance to recover and to sort out his emotions. And he knew Castiel did too. He swallowed and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and bite down his feelings. “Wait… look, we didn’t know you were here, I swear. And I’m sorry, it’s just so sudden. We’re just here to take Autumn to the state fair. She loves horses and… I thought it would be nice.”

“Autumn?” Castiel questioned. Sam sighed, wondering how Castiel would take this news.

“My daughter,” he replied as his heart skipped a beat. “She’s… she’s at the motel with Dean if you want to meet her.”

“You have a child…” Castiel stammered. He glanced at Hannah, the two seemed to share an expression, and he squeezed Hannah’s hand. He looked at Sam again. “I… I don’t know if I’m ready for this, but if you come to the fair tomorrow, I’ll meet you there. Agreed?”

Sam nodded quickly. Before he could say anything more, Castiel and Hannah promptly got into their car, and Sam found himself staring at the spot their car had been long after it had gone.


	2. Chapter 2

“Why are the Winchesters here?” Hannah wanted to know. Castiel glanced over at her as he busied himself in the kitchen. She and Abigail sat together at their tiny kitchen table while Castiel stood over the stove, scrambling some eggs. 

“Sam said they were taking his daughter to the fair,” Castiel answered. He tried not to let his thoughts consume him. His encounter with Sam was unexpected and he couldn’t help but feel anxious at the prospect of meeting the two of them again. 

He thought about canceling, more than a few times. He wasn’t sure he was ready to face either of them again, but especially Dean. He felt guilty when he thought about Sam and how he had walked out on both of them and never told Sam. 

He wasn’t sure he was ready for any of this. But maybe, if the Winchester’s saw his family, what he was trying to build here, they’d understand, and maybe they’d leave him alone. He wasn’t so sure about letting them back into his life again, not after so long. 

“I don’t trust them, Castiel,” Hannah spoke up, pulling Castiel out of his thoughts. Looking at the two of them, the angel woman and the eight-year-old girl sitting next to her, he couldn’t help but see a resemblance. Abigail wasn’t related to either of their vessels, but it was striking how she managed to look so much like the both of them. She could easily pass for their biological daughter. She had the same big, brilliantly cerulean blue eyes, the same dark hair. Sometimes, when Castiel looked at the two of them, he liked to imagine that Hannah had given birth to her and that he was the girl’s father. 

But he knew that couldn’t be true. He’d only been with the two of them for about six months. Before he found them, he had been alone. So alone for all these many years. Now he had a family, almost overnight. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll have the two of you with me,” Castiel assured Hannah as he juggled three plates of scrambled eggs and toast and brought them all over to the table. Then, he brought over two mugs of coffee and a glass of orange juice before sitting down with the two of them. He glanced across the table at Abigail. “Would you like to go to the fair, Abigail?”

“Will there be animals there?” the girl asked as she sipped her orange juice. Her wavy dark hair was pulled out of her eyes and she wore hair clips shaped like butterflies in her hair which fluttered whenever she moved her head. She wore a simple burgundy cotton dress with buttons shaped like butterflies and dark stockings. 

“Perhaps,” Castiel confirmed. “I imagine there could be sheep and cattle, maybe even horses.” 

Abigail grinned and looked at Hannah, excitement in her eyes. “I hope there will be horses,” she declared eagerly. “And I want to see how many butterfly species I can see.” Hannah smiled at the girl but when she glanced back at Castiel, her eyes met his. Castiel couldn’t help but notice the apprehension in her eyes.

“It’ll be okay,” Castiel assured her again. He leaned over and brushed a hand against Hannah’s cheek, trying to reassure her. And perhaps to reassure himself. 

“I just worry that the Winchesters will persuade you to return with them,” Hannah confessed. “They’ve always had such a profound hold on you. Stronger than even heaven.”

Castiel shook his head. There was no denying that. He remembered a time when he’d be at Sam and Dean’s beck and call for anything. He thought that they needed him, that they valued him. And he certainly valued them, he loved them both. And especially Dean. He had certainly felt a pull toward the older Winchester and it’s what kept him coming back each and every time, and it’s why their final argument had hurt so much. 

But now, Castiel had something better. Whatever attraction Castiel had held to Dean in the past, Hannah and Abigail had put an end to it just by being here. They were his new family. And the best part was that they valued him. Hannah’s concern for him was all he needed to reaffirm where he belonged. 

“You aren’t going anywhere are you?” Abigail looked concerned, no doubt picking up on the tension between the two of them. “I don’t want to be alone again.”

Castiel shook his head and it was Hannah that turned her attention to the girl, looking her firmly in the eyes. “You will never have to be alone again, Abigail,” she assured her. “Castiel and I will take care of you.”

“Why don’t you finish your breakfast and we can get over to the fair,” Castiel suggested and Abigail eagerly complied, finishing the last of her eggs, chewing quickly. 

“Slow down, you don’t want to choke,” Hannah warned as she and Castiel got to their feet and put their plates in the sink. 

Hannah and Castiel didn’t need to eat. But Abigail was human. At least, she was now. And she needed to eat. So Castiel had made it a point to insist that they all ate meals together whenever they could. He wanted the girl to feel they could give her what she had lost so long ago.

The family of angels, and former angels, gathered their belongings and headed for the fair. It was a short drive to the fair from their small apartment. As they parked and the three of them walked up to the main entrance, Castiel held Abigail’s hand as he tried to calm his nerves. 

The girl skipped along beside him as Hannah held her other hand. And, there they were. Sam and Dean came into view as they argued with the lady at the ticket booth. As Castiel moved in closer, he spotted the little girl standing beside Sam. A short light brown-haired child who looked to be perhaps 3 or 4. Which seemed to fit given the time that had passed since last he’d seen them. 

  
  


For a moment, Castiel considered turning around and getting into a different line. Maybe they could slip past the Winchesters unnoticed. But as he said that, Sam turned and his face lit up when his eyes met Castiel’s.

“Cas!” Sam exclaimed as he left Dean to argue with the ticket counter and hurried towards them, the girl hurrying after him. “I… I was worried you weren’t coming. We got you all tickets.”

Castiel smiled even as he swallowed, feeling nervous. “Sam,” he greeted as he came to a stop in front of the taller Winchester, his family standing beside him. Their presence was enough to give him the courage to be there. 

“T-this is Abigail,” Castiel stammered for a moment, gesturing to the girl. “She is my daughter. Mine and Hannah’s. Well… sort of.” 

“Sort of?” Sam raised a brow suspiciously as he glanced at Abigail. Castiel wasn’t sure if he was ready to tell Sam or Dean Abigail’s story, but he realized he may have to. 

“Well, she’s adopted,” Hannah explained before Castiel could try to come up with a story to placate Sam. “Or at least, she is trying to be.”

Sam smiled, kneeling down to be at Abigail’s level. “Hey Abigail,” he greeted as he motioned for the girl to come closer. “This is Autumn. Autumn, will you say hello?”

“Hi,” Autumn said shyly, staring at Abigail. Abigail was a few inches taller than the small girl, but she gave her a wave. 

“Hi,” she greeted. “Will you go on some rides with me?” Autumn glanced up at Sam hopefully and Sam shrugged. 

“Well, we might have to find some rides that are suitable, Autumn is too little to ride the big kid rides,” Sam explained. 

“Hey!” Dean’s voice startled Castiel as they all stood up as the older Winchester approached. Castiel took in a deep breath as Dean noticed him. 

“Hello, Dean,” he greeted cautiously. Dean glanced in his direction and seemed to look him over for a moment before turning back to Sam. 

“Are we going to stand out here all day or are we going into the fair?” he demanded. Castiel tensed as he stood there, waiting for any acknowledgment from Dean. 

“Dean, it’s Cas,” Sam motioned at the angels. “Can you believe it? He’s been here this whole time!”

“Yeah I see him,” Dean said irritably. “Come on let’s go inside.”

Castiel sighed. Dean’s brush off hurt more than he anticipated it would. But he tried to ignore it. Sam shrugged at him apologetically. 

Reluctantly, Castiel and his family followed the Winchesters into the fair. Castiel tried to ignore the pain he felt just being in Sam and Dean’s presence. He didn’t want his animosity between them to spoil Abigail’s day here. So he swallowed down the pain and tried to mask it. 

Later, when Hannah took the girls to the petting zoo and Dean had wandered off on his own somewhere, Castiel found himself alone, sitting at a table with Sam. The petting zoo area was in view and they watched their daughters happily playing with the sheep and goats and donkeys while Hannah stayed close by.

“They seem to have really hit it off,” Sam commented as the two of them watched. Castiel glanced across the table at Sam and met his eyes. He frowned as he glanced down at the table. He was happy to see Abigail and Autumn playing so happily. But the more they bonded, the more Castiel felt the pain growing inside of him. 

“Yeah, Abigail can be awkward around other children,” he said after a moment. There was a pause and he could feel Sam’s eyes on him.

“Hey, I’m sorry. You know, about Dean,” Sam offered. Castiel winced as he thought of it. Dean had straight-up ignored Castiel’s presence the entire time. He pretended like he wasn’t even there. And that is what hurts the most. 

“I guess he hasn’t been able to let things go,” Castiel responded. But he was quickly remembering why he had left the bunker so many years ago. Dean. It was Dean, not Sam. And as he sat there talking with Sam, he felt more comfortable. And guilty. He felt guilty that when he had walked out on Dean he had also walked out on Sam.

“So, who is Autumn’s mother?” Castiel asked, wanting to change the subject. He didn’t want to talk about Dean. 

“Eileen,” Sam explained with a sigh. “Yeah uh… it happened shortly after you left. Eileen got out of hell, we brought her back to life and… well… things between us kinda happened fast.”

“I see,” Castiel responded, remembering the deaf hunter from a few years ago. He wanted to know more but was afraid to pry. He noted Eileen’s absence and dreaded the possibilities. 

“She died,” Sam explained before Castiel could ask the question. “Not long ago. It was vampires.”

Castiel sighed. “I’m so sorry, Sam,” he said genuinely as he focused in on Sam’s face. “Then you and Dean quit hunting to take care of your daughter?”

“Well, Dean still hunts,” Sam explained. “Yeah, he goes out on hunts with Jody and Donna and whoever else. But I don’t want her to know… about monsters, you know?”

“Yeah…” Castiel trailed off. Another long pause as he thought of Abigail. He wished she could be spared such knowledge but she already knew.

“So you and Hannah adopted Abigail?” Sam asked curiously. Castiel nodded and sighed long and hard as he thought of Abigail’s trauma.

“She and her parents were all possessed by angels,” Castiel explained. “She managed to survive the experience, but she suffers from certain mental and emotional ailments as a result. Hannah and I found her at a foster home, the adults had been killed by demons. We took her before the authorities got to her and now, we are trying to adopt her.”

“Trying?” Sam blinked. “Wait so you kinda kidnapped her, Cas.”

“Yeah…” Castiel confirmed. “The authorities seemed to think that way too. But you two taught me how to forge documents, so we were able to keep her. For now, at least. We would rather care for her than leave her in some other foster establishment. After all, it was our fault she lost her parents. Our kinds fault.”

“What other angels did isn’t on you, Cas,” Sam assured him. Castiel frowned, not wanting to answer right away. He remembered seeing that broken little girl, standing in the middle of the destroyed home, death all around her. He remembered how she’d run to him in fear that the demons would come back. After all, she knew what it felt like to be possessed. 

As he sat there, thinking of everything Abigail had been through because of angels, he felt a warm touch. Sam put his hand on Castiel’s and the angel met his eyes, and really looked at them for the first time in so long. 

“Her future with us, it’s uncertain,” Castiel began, taking a risk that he could trust Sam with his fears. “It’s why Hannah and I decided to be wed. It looks better to the authorities if we were married. We’ve only been married for a few months. We did it for her.”

Castiel remembered how he’d wandered the world alone before he had been reunited with Hannah. And although their close friendship had been rekindled almost immediately, the deeper emotions had come later. And he was still getting used to them. After all, there had only been a few people in his life that Castiel felt  _ that way _ for and one of them had broken his heart and treated him like something they could just discard. Hannah valued him, Hannah cared for him, and although feelings were new to her as well, they came to her quickly. 

But, as Castiel sat there, feeling his hands intertwined with Sam’s, he felt confused. Maybe those feelings he had in the past were meant for Sam, not Dean. He’d never considered it before, but maybe, just maybe…

No. He couldn’t let himself feel that way for another Winchester. He knew where it could lead. He refused to let himself feel that way. He pushed those thoughts away as best as he could.

“Cas, I know it's been a long time,” Sam offered, squeezing his hands. “And I know things are weird between you and Dean, but maybe I could help you out. I mean I can tell you care about what happens to Abigail and I want to help. If you’ll let me.”

Castiel considered that for a moment. It would mean letting Sam and Dean back into his life again. He remembered Hannah’s concerns, how she feared he’d be lured back in. And he couldn’t deny the temptation was there. 

“I.. I’m sorry,” Sam stammered, glancing away quickly. “It’s just… I don’t want to lose you again.”

Castiel sighed, pulling away and leaning back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t want to lose Sam again either. He realized then how much he missed him. Sam had always been there for him even if Dean hadn’t. And maybe that was something he should have paid attention to. 

“If you’d like, you and Autumn can come over for dinner,” he heard himself saying. “Hannah will not approve, but I think she can be convinced. She is protective of my emotions.”

“I’m glad that she is,” Sam offered sincerely. “I can tell there’s something between you two, even if you got married out of necessity. I’m glad you found each other, Cas, I’ve been so worried about you.”

There was a slight hint of something in Sam’s voice and in his eyes. Was it disappointment? Was it jealousy? Castiel wasn’t sure. Then again, reading subtle human language wasn’t his strong suit.

The rest of the day passed without incident. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave comments and feedback.


	3. Chapter 3

When Hannah pulled up to the school where Abigail attended the third grade, she wasn’t sure what to expect. The school principal had called her at work demanding that she pick Abigail up following an incident. 

When she walked into the principal’s office, she found Abigail sitting silently in her seat in front of the principal’s desk. The stern wire-haired man behind the desk glanced up when Hannah entered the room, along with the woman looming behind him who immediately fixed Hannah with a suspicious glare. 

“Hannah,” Abigail immediately leaped off the chair and dove into Hannah’s arms, bursting into tears as Hannah enveloped her. As the girl sobbed, Hannah frowned as she steered herself and Abigail to the chairs and sat down, pulling the girl into her arms, rubbing her back soothingly before turning her attention to the adults. 

“What has happened here?” Hannah demanded. “What is the meaning of all this?” 

“We had an incident earlier during a fire drill,” the principal explained as Abigail wiped her eyes and clung to Hannah. “She just froze and refused to move. The teacher asked her to get out of her seat, and she just ignored her.”

“I didn’t like the noise,” Abigail explained, her breath hitched up in a sob. “It was so loud, and no one told me it was going to happen.”

“She doesn’t like certain noises,” Hannah explained calmly to the principal. “It would be best if she is allowed to be excused from these sorts of exercises.”

“It’s important that kids understand fire safety,” the principal insisted as he exchanged looks with the woman behind him who hadn’t spoken yet but seem to be observing the situation. “The surprise fire drills are there so that students know how to act quickly in an emergency.

“Miss… Vermeulen, is it?” the woman finally spoke up, referring to Hannah by the surname she had chosen for herself. It was Caroline Johnson’s maiden name, so it had felt appropriate for Hannah to decide using it if she was to remain on Earth. “According to what the principal tells me, you aren’t the girl’s biological mother, correct?”

Hannah felt nervous, and she felt Abigail tense in her arms at that. “No, I’m not,” Hannah confirmed carefully, “Castiel and I are trying to adopt her. She’s been living with us for six months now.”

“This is Miss Gillespie,” the principal explained. “She’s with the child protective services here in town. We called her after this incident.”

“This is none of her concern,” Hannah warned. She still didn’t have a good grasp on human interactions, and all these laws and rules were the most baffling to her. That they could prevent her and Castiel from caring for a child they’d chosen to take in was something she couldn’t understand. Since they had found Abigail, their lives had been complicated, and they felt constantly exposed. From the teachers to doctors to even the people they worked with, everyone seemed to be concerned with how they chose to care for Abigail. 

“I’m afraid that it is,” the woman insisted, crossing her arms across her chest. “I understand that you removed the child from where she had been living without notifying authorities. And now you are asking to adopt her. It’s not just some simple process. We have to evaluate the case very carefully for Abigail’s sake.”

Abigail turned towards the two of them, eyes still watery with tears. “Castiel and Hannah take care of me,” she explained. “Because they are angels. I was an angel, too, once. And my parents were angels, but the demons killed them. They’ve killed everyone I know.”

Hannah winced inwardly as she watched the confusion and disbelief spread across their faces. What Abigail had said was the truth, but of course, few humans would believe it. 

Mrs. Gillespie sighed and came around the desk to kneel in front of Abigail. “Abby,” she began, “Can I call you, Abby?”

“My name is Abigail,” Abigail corrected informatively as she looked the woman over. “You should call me that.”

Gillespie smiled but nodded. “Okay, Abigail. You know that angels and demons aren’t real, right? They’re only make-believe.” 

Abigail frowned and looked at Hannah for approval. Hannah sighed. “We’ll speak to her about what’s make-believe and what’s not,” she informed her. “I’d like to take her home now.”

Mrs. Gillespie stood up and glared down at Hannah, and Hannah felt intimidated as she sat in her chair. “Mrs. Vermuelen, we need to make sure you and your partner are suitable parents for Abigail,” she informed her. “I will be arranging for inspections of your environment, your parenting methods, and your financial means, and you must comply with any orders we make of you and to attend court hearings. Do either of you have any prior parenting skills?”

Hannah swallowed and tried to search her memory. It was true that she and Castiel were inexperienced in so many ways. They were angels raising a human child. They were struggling to navigate the nuances of human society as best they could. But there was one thing that she could offer. 

“Castiel had a child,” she informed them as she remembered the one being that Castiel had mentioned in the time she had been reunited with him. The Nephilim, Jack. At first, Hannah had been appalled that Castiel would allow a Nephilim- one spawned by Lucifer no less- to live. But as Castiel spoke of him, how kind he was, how Castiel had come to see him as a son, Hannah had wished she had had a chance to meet him too. “Jack. He died.”

“How?”

“He got sick,” Hannah knew better than to tell the truth about how Jack died, how god had killed the boy. 

“Well, we will be investigating that as well,” the woman informed her. “And if we don’t like what we find, we will be forced to remove Abigail from your custody, do you understand? We want to do what’s best for the child.”

Hannah’s impulsive anger propelled her out of her chair at what she perceived as an implied threat. She stiffened, looked the woman straight in the eye as she felt Abigail scramble quickly to her side, grasping her hand tightly. “We know what’s best for Abigail,” she snapped, her voice low and dangerous. “And both of us will be dead before you take her from us.”

With that, she turned and stormed out of the office, Abigail easily keeping up with her. They both practically flew out of the school building, and when they were finally out on the street, Hannah took in a deep breath, forcing herself to compose herself before turning to kneel in front of Abigail. She could see the fear in the girl’s big eyes.

“Can they really take me away?” Abigail worried, her eyes welling up with tears again. Hannah shook her head. 

“They will never take you away,” Hannah promised vehemently. But even as she said that she was worried. She knew that their lives could get far more complicated if they chose not to surrender a girl that they’d technically kidnapped. 

“I’m scared, Hannah,” Abigail sobbed, falling into Hannah’s arms. “The angels and the demons killed everyone I loved, and I’m so afraid of being alone.”

Hannah squeezed the girl tight. She was scared too. She’d never realized how much she could come to care for a human being, but she realized then that she needed Abigail as much as Abigail needed her. The girl had managed to bring her and Castiel together again after they’d been apart for so long. And she’d come to learn through the tragedy of this child, just how devastating angel possession could be. 

She and Castiel both bore the guilt of it. Neither no longer had living humans inside of them; Hannah had allowed Caroline Johnson’s soul to go up to heaven, just as Castiel had allowed Jimmy Novak. They felt it was the kindest thing they could do, given the suffering they had brought to these humans and everyone around them. They’d been responsible for destroying families, and they’d never be able to fix that.

And now they had a chance to care for one life who had been ruined by angels, they saw it as a duty to make sure that Abigail grew up to be a happy child despite her horrible trauma. 

And it wasn’t just duty or a chance to fix the guilt of what their kind had taken from this child. Hannah had grown to care for the child in a way that went beyond just a duty. There was something about Abigail, how she saw the world, and how she seemed to care about the world around her that Hannah felt enlightening. This must be what having a child felt like. Constantly worrying for their safety, happiness, and knowing full well that she would be quite willing to die before allowing any harm to come to Abigail. 

After a moment, Abigail composed herself, wiping her tears, and Hannah looked at her. “I think we should go get some ice cream,” Hannah suggested to the girl. Abigail’s face lit up.

“Can we go find some butterflies after that?” she asked hopefully. Hannah nodded. And for now, it seemed, she could put her concerns behind her and focus on making Abigail smile again. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is liking this story and I really hope you will let me know in the comments! I wanted to point out that I am an autistic person and this fire drill incident is a real incident that happened to me when I was a kid.


End file.
